Collegiate Week Aligns Students, Leaders for Campus Ministry

Days before the start of a new school year, more than 1,730 college students and leaders gathered at Falls Creek Conference Center in Davis, Okla., to learn how to live on mission and become passionate followers of Jesus. Groups from across North America – including Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada – gathered with International Mission Board (IMB) and North American Mission Board (NAMB) personnel for the five-day August event that included worship, teaching, and fellowship. State convention collegiate ministry leaders partnered to plan and produce the event, which saw its largest post-Covid attendance this year.

Pastor Arjay Gruspe, of Pawa’a Community Church in Honolulu, also serves as the state director of Next Generation Ministries for the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention and was a member of the event planning team. This year he brought eight others from Hawaii, including four students, to “challenge them to be countercultural in the way they live and approach life on their campuses.” He celebrates the report that more than 50 individuals prayed to receive Christ and that more than 200 responded to a call to ministry during Collegiate Week.

“It was great to see so many campus and church-based campus ministries interacting and planning ways to partner and pray for one another this fall. IMB always has a strong presence and did a great job in having students consider mission involvement,” Gruspe said, adding that he was glad to see increased numbers of seminaries engaging with students this year.

Collegiate Week partners with Southern Baptist seminaries, Woman’s Missionary Union, NAMB, and IMB to introduce students and leaders to the full spectrum of available missions, vocational, and educational opportunities. According to Registration Coordinator Carissa Jones of the Oklahoma Baptist Convention, the event also seeks to help participants take their next steps in ministry leadership.

“The college years are pivotal. Students are often on their own for the first time and making decisions that will impact them for the rest of their lives. The world is there waiting for them, and the body of Christ needs to be as well,” Jones said.

H.B. Charles, Shane Pruitt, and Tommy Woodard were featured speakers during the 2024 Collegiate Week, with worship sessions led by Cody Dunbar and Matt Roberson. Participants shared decisions and requested follow-up contact through a QR code, and others responded during worship services, which saw hundreds of participants gather throughout the altar area.

First Baptist Denton, Texas, College Pastor Jared Gregory has brought students from his church’s ministry to Collegiate Week since 2018 and has served in several planning capacities for the event over the years. He said it’s a time for students to “connect with God, each other, and our mission agencies” before the back-to-school rush sets in. This year he brought 35 students from the University of North Texas, Texas Woman’s University, and North Central Texas College.

“It’s such a good week to see students get right in their relationship with God before they start ministry to others. This year, we had a number of students come forward to confess sin in their lives that is holding them back from God, and three students declared a call to ministry,” Gregory reports.

According to Stacy Murphree, campus minister at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, the timing of Collegiate Week is a bonus, right before the beginning of fall semester. This year she brought about 100 BCM students from six different campuses, and appreciates that student and leader participants benefitted from networking and sharing ideas. The experience also “jumpstarts” her leaders, who had about one week before campus ministries officially started.

“I love that our students can hear about campuses in emerging areas – maybe they could feel personally led to serve in those areas, but this also broadens their perspective of campus ministry that’s not just about what we do on our campuses. It’s about what God is doing throughout the United States,” Murphree said, adding that “no where else could they be with other students from other BCMs across the country and now be able to better pray for those campuses, too. This is such a valuable time.”